OCL title on line

BY JAMES SCHNEIDER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Friday, November 7, 2008 2:18 AM EST

It's the matchup fans of both teams have been anticipating since Attleboro defeated Bridgewater-Raynham a month ago. The defending Old Colony League champions in Dartmouth playing host to the Blue Bombardiers in a game that will decide which team will head to the MIAA Playoffs. But some of the luster has seemed to wear off since last week, when Attleboro was humbled at the hands of Bishop Feehan 21-0 - Attleboro's first loss and the only thing keeping this from being a battle of the unbeatens as well.

"They're coming along," Attleboro coach Kevin Deschenes said of his team. "Obviously it was tough, it was a tough Monday and weekend for them, but they're responding and they know what's ahead of them." What's ahead for the Bombardiers is a highly-regarded Indian team that has its best offensive weapon back in quarterback Sean Sivlia. Silvia missed five games this year for Dartmouth but is back at full-strength for the undefeated Indians. "He's going to get his yards, you can't let him break the big one," Deschenes said.

But stopping Silvia isn't the Bombardiers' only concern, considering the success the Indians had without their star quarterback. "You have to shut down Justin Mello too," Deschenes said. "Without Silvia they were 5-0. Mello has to be shutdown, he's a good runner with a great set of hands and good speed." And to top it all off there is University of Georgia-bound Arthur Fontaine, who plays tight end and lines up as a wide receiver for Dartmouth. "He's the biggest kid out there," Deschenes said. "You throw it to him in the end zone and it's a jump-ball. He definitely has the height advantage. We have to make sure we hit him off the line."

It all adds up to a powerful offense for the Indians, an offense that Attleboro hopes to keep off the field as much as possible. "Offensively, to win the game we have to sustain drives, eat up clock and keep their offense off the field," Deschenes said. "We've got to be able to get a push off the line. Our guys have to be able to sustain blocks." With Dartmouth sitting 3-0 in OCL play and Attleboro at 2-0, this game will decide who wins the league and goes on to the MIAA playoffs. It's no surprise that Dartmouth, which fell in overtime to Everett in the Division 1 Super Bowl last year, is playing for the league title. But the fact that the playoff-deciding game is tonight, against Attleboro, would qualify as a surprise to many. But coming into the season, Deschenes knew his squad had what it took to compete for the OCL title, and after winning four straight road games to open the season he was more sure than ever.

"In the beginning of the season I said, 'The championship is going through Dartmouth,'"Deschenes said. "We knew Dartmouth was coming back strong. And our staff knew we had the nucleus (to compete). Winning is contagious, and the kids have worked hard." All that hard work comes down to one game, tonight, under the lights, at Dartmouth, for a league title and a trip to the playoffs.